In Charlton, two men nabbed in scrap metal theft

Arthur J. Mansfield Jr., 44, of 12 Florence St., Putnam, and David O. Faford, 29, of 9 Market St., Apt. 9, Webster, pleaded not guilty Wednesday in Dudley District Court to trespassing with a motor vehicle, larceny valued at more than $250 and walking/riding on railroad tracks.

Mr. Mansfield was released on personal recognizance. Mr. Faford posted $100 bail. Their pretrial hearings are June 26.

About 2 p.m. Tuesday, Spencer police called Charlton police to report they had two men in custody along railroad tracks near GTC Farm in Charlton. The Spencer authorities were unsure if they had crossed into Charlton, the police report said.

The men said they were picking up scrap metal. Their Ford pickup truck was filled with 10 5-gallon pails of railroad spikes, lags and scrap rail components, police said.

The truck sagged in the back and appeared overloaded.

The price of this type of scrap is $250 per ton, police said.

CSX Transportation, which placed the original call to police, sent someone to retrieve the metal.